Registering an Agency

General information

This section provides all necessary information for those seeking to register an agency to deliver on-site or remote interpreting services.

Interpreting and Translation agencies may also provide language access services to the Unified Court System. Compensation for agencies providing court interpreting services is $140.00 for the half day (4 hours), and $250.00 for the full day (4 hours plus). Businesses or agencies interested in being listed on our statewide database as a qualified provider of Language Access services to the New York Unified Court System must comply with the following requirements:

Agencies should submit the names of the interpreters who will provide interpreting services to the courts, to the Office of Language Access (fax: 212-428-2548 or regular mail to OCA 25 Beaver Street, 8th floor, New York, NY, 10004, Att: Office of Language Access) in order to arrange for Language Skills Screening exams. Contact information for each candidate should be included, such as addresses and telephone numbers. Individual tax identification numbers are required as well.

The Unified Court System notifies individual candidates of their own test results. An agency wishing to be notified of passing exam results for the interpreters whose names they have submitted for testing, must have an executed Release Form on file for each interpreter.

Agencies who wish to provide language access services for the deaf and hard of hearing, must comply with the requirements as established by the Chief Administrative Judge. The Chief Administrative Judge has established the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc (RID) as a recognized credentialing authority; the minimum RID credential required by the New York State Unified Court System is the Certificate of Interpretation (CI).

Finally, all interpreters whether working as independent contractors or as agency representatives, must successfully undergo a criminal background investigation. A $75.00 fee payable to the NYS Division of Criminal Justice services is required for each interpreter.